A
weekend in Porto... continued
I
recently spent a weekend in Porto with Douro winemaker Dirk Niepoort.
A number of us were gathered to celebrate his 40th, and for most
of us the wines we had over these three days represented the best part
of a year's worth of drinking experiences all crammed into a weekend.
I took notes on almost everything, and I'm reproducing them here for
the sake of the record.
Part 1, Friday can
be found here. This is part 2, Saturday.
[Part 3, Sunday lunch is here; part 4
Sunday evening is here.] We gathered at the
headquarters of Dirk's distribution company, UVA, for some wine
tasting. First up were some Rieslings from Markus Schneider, a young
winemaker in the Pflaz. My notes from these are written up separately here. After this we were each poured seven different ports - we were
going to taste components of the Niepoort 2003 blend, a really
interesting experiment which I've also written up
separately.
After
this, it was time for some lunch, which was al fresco at the Marizé Restaurant. Outside by the sea this was a
lovely setting, as long as you ignored the refinery about a mile south
along the coast. We had a lovely informal lunch washed down with some
nice wines, which didn’t seem to suffer at all from being tasted
outdoors from rather humble wine glasses. I enjoyed this immensely,
especially the last three wines which were all superb. Luis Guitierrez
had a small disaster, though, when his chair collapsed beneath him.
Muralhas de Monção Vinho
Verde 2003
Fresh, crisp and clean with a slight spritz and subtle herby edge.
High acidity makes this a brilliant food wine. Very good+ 86/100
Muros Antigos Alvarinho 2002
Monção Vinho Verde
Slightly spritzy, displaying lovely rounded fruit with a touch of
herbiness. Quite rich and really nicely poised. Very good+ 89/100
Antonio Esteves Ferreira
Alvarinho Soalheiro 2003
Fresh, crisp, fresh and limey. Lovely density. Fresh and minerally
with good acidity. Very good+ 88/100
Poeira
2001 Douro
Wonderful nose is perfumed and spicy with red fruit and cherry
notes. The palate is concentrated yet elegant with fine spicy
structure and good acidity. Excellent 95/100
Maximin Grünhauser Abstberg
Riesling Auslese 1995 Mosel Saar Ruwer, Germany
Lovely intense limey nose which is expressive and complex. The
palate is explosive and rich with good acidity. This is brilliantly
poised and has wonderfully fine acidity and structure. Excellent
95/100
Niepoort Garrafeira 1977
Dirk Niepoort says that if vintage Port is Bordeaux, then his
Garrafeiras are more like Burgundy. This is a lovely, spicy intense
wine full of complexity and showing great balance. Excellent 95/100
After
lunch, no time for a snooze, but back to the UVA offices for a tasting
of the wines from Austrian winery Schloss Gobelsburg, presented by
Michael Moosbrugger (John Crook is pictured right sniffing a Grüner.
This tasting is written up separately here.
It was late
afternoon by the time we left, but a gap in proceedings allowed for a
quick shut-eye before assembling for the grand evening dinner, held at
the Bull and Bear restaurant. This was a very special multi-course
event with a crowd of about 40 wine-trade associated people. The wines
were quite stunning, too - most out of magnums or even double magnums.
Dirk and his wife Dorli have just had a baby girl, Anna - her pram
came in useful in transporting some of these large-sized bottles from
the car to the restaurant, a scene of great comic value. The food
was superb, and the wines were well chosen to match the many courses,
and I doubt that my notes do them proper justice.
Fritz Haag Brauneberger
Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese AP 15 1995 Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany
Lovely fresh limey nose is expressive, minerally and piercing. The
palate shows lemony, grapefruity fruit withsome melony richness. Very
precisely defined with minerally acidity. Very good/excellent 93/100
Deutz Blanc de Blancs 1993 Champagne
(from double magnum)
Intense, fresh, slightly herby character, with nice toastiness.
Tiny bit green but very nice indeed. Very good/excellent 91/100
Gerard Duplessis Chablis 1er Cru Monte
de Tonnerre 1989 Burgundy, France (Magnum)
Lovely rounded nutty nose with some minerality. Palate is rounded,
minerally and nutty. Very smooth with some evolution: classic and
evolved. Very good/excellent 92/100
Michel Juillot Corton-Charlemagne Grand
Cru 1993 Burgundy, France (Magnum)
Very bready nose – baked bread and toast. The palate is smooth
and nutty with a mineralic streak. Lots of oak but its nicely
integrated and quite developed. Nice delineation of flavour. Very
good/excellent 94/100
Domaine de Chevalier Blanc 1996
Pessac-Léognan, Bordeaux, France (double magnum)
Very refined intense nose showing lovely definition: piercing
acidity at one end and classy, tight vanilla oak notes at the other.
Very taut refined palate with fresh, bright fruit and toasty oak.
Minerally finish. Very good/excellent 91/100
Moscatel de Favaios 1900 Douro
Lovely fresh orangey, marmaladey nose. The palate is spicy and
rich with powerful woody notes, some caramel and fudge, together with
lovely acidity offsetting the sweetness. Very good/excellent 92/100
Domaine de Chevalier 1996 Pessac-Léognan,
Bordeaux, France (double magnum)
Very expressive perfumed, cedary, minerally, chalky nose showing
ripe blackcurrant fruits. The palate is classic, minerally,
leafy-edged and savoury. Light and expressive, this is a terroir wine
rather than a blockbuster. Very good/excellent 90/100
Château Angélus 1966 Saint-Emilion
Grand Cru (Magnum)
Lovely open, evolved nose showing notes of leather and herbs. The
palate is smooth with savoury, spicy structure and smooth tannins. A
complex old wine that is subtle and elegant. Very good/excellent
92/100
Château Lynch-Bages 1986 Pauillac
(Magnum)
A bold, firm wine with a hint of undergrowth. Tight, slightly
spicy herby nose with some tarry notes. The palate shows tight-knit
spicy fruit with firm structure and lots of tannin. Less pleasurable
than the 1988 at the moment, but bigger. Very good/excellent 91/100
Château Lynch-Bages 1988 Pauillac
(Magnum)
Very rich, powerful nose of blackcurrant and herbs. Complex and
alluring. The palate is rich and expressive with lovely herby, spicy
black and red fruits. Drinking nicely now. Very good/excellent 93/100
Porta dos Cavaleiros Reserva
Seleccionada 1974 Dão (Magnum)
Intense, spicy open nose with old leathery notes. The palate is
firm, savoury and spicy, showing dusty tannic structure. Chewy and
spicy, this is a good food wine. Vvery good+ 88/100
Vega Sicilia Único 1970 Ribera del
Duero, Spain (Magnum)
Quite an evolved nose: distinctly herby and spicy. The palate is
quite intense with high acid and herby, spicy fruit. This is a complex
old wine: it’s a little challenging and tastes older than I thought
it would (I’ve had this once before about five years ago). Very
good/excellent 90/100
Vinícola do Vale do Dão Reserva 1975
Dão (Magnum)
Old wine nose. Very savoury and spicy on the palate but a bit
dried out. Nicely savoury but too old and dried out. Good 74
Tapada de Coelheiros Garrafeira 1996
Alentejo, Portugal (Magnum)
A blend of Aragones and Cabernet Sauvignon. Good concentration of
savoury, chewy, herby spicy red fruits with assertive tannins and
acidity. There’s an earthiness on the finish. Structured. Very good+
88/100
Château Climens 1985 Barsac-Sauternes
(Magnum)
Lovely intense nose of fresh lemon and marmalade fruit – very
bright. The palate is brilliantly balanced with superb weight and
texture together with good acidity holding the sweetness in brilliant
tension. Excellent 95/100
Fonseca Vintage Port 1970 (Magnum)
Very spicy with firm tannins and high acidity. Lively and complex
with some herby complexity. Very good/excellent 93/100
Niepoort Party Port NV (2.15 l)
This is a 20 year old tawny that has been aged for 30 years in
bottle. Originally the 'Party Port' was sold to Denmark in these
unusual 2.15 litre bottles, but some of the bottles were left over and
so they were filled with 20 year old tawny. Nutty, spicy nose leading
to a soft, spicy palate with some raisiny richness and caramel and
fudge notes. Unusual and nice. Very good/excellent 91/100
Fritz Haag Brauneberger
Juffer-Sonnenuhr Riesling Auslese Langhe GoldKapsel Fuder 9 1998 Mosel
Saar Ruwer, Germany (Magnum)
Wonderfully complex nose of lemon, lime and spice. The palate
shows an explosive breadth with high acidity and spicy, melony fruit.
Brilliantly defined and pure, with lots of expression. Nice balance
between the sweetness and the acidity. Excellent 95/100
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